Alduin's Rise

[Macman253]

Tordin smiled and looked to Sivari and chuckled.

 

"To be truthful miss... I am... unique." He said with a quick smirk before hauling himself onto Faasnu's saddle.

 

Tordin tied off his hair with a leather strap from around his wrist and turned Faasnu around to face her.

 

"If you want to know more... ask when we are not beset by foes on all sides." He added as he turned his horse to the north, to Whiterun and started off on a purposeful trot.

[Spawnsy]

As the journey to Whiterun moves along Artago takes off his helmet and pulls a hidden locket off his neck and looks at the picture inside "Mother, I may not be able to cure you, but I will release you from this nightmare if you are part of this....demons nightmare, I promise." He puts his locket and helmet back on and walks on

[Keanumoreira]

Abdul's incantations were interrupted by the old man and the innkeeper. Keen as any Argonian, his ears twitched by the whispers in the air, "A dragon? The old man is a dragon"? His eyes widened. He was careful not to divulge this to the others, especially the old man, but somehow, Abdul could feel that he already knew.

 

He blended in with the others, his eyes and heart set on Whiterun.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Keanumoreira

[twentynine29]

Edwin was casually riding his horse and admiring the landscape. Although Skyrim was frigid, it was remarkably beautiful. The trip to Whiterun was not very long, so he decided to use this time to be the chatterbox he is and start a conversation with the others. He especially asked about Tordin and how he defeated Alduin in the past and how he came back from the dead after thousands of years.

 

Whiterun was getting very near. He heard about the city from his father, he told him that it was the trading capital of Skyrim. Edwin's family owned a large trading company and it was passed down through generations of his family. Edwin found the trade business boring, he wanted to be a mage instead. Obviously his father was furious at him, he was his only son, if not him then who? He had heard legends of the palace, Dragonsreach. Supposedly it was used to trap the dragon Numinex after being defeated by the High King Olaf-One Eye. Shortly, the city is in sight, but instead of the beautiful city it once was it looked gloomy and damaged. The sun is blocked by a wall of clouds, smoke rose from the city indicating recent conflict. At least there was some sort of resistance. He readied himself for a fight, which was likely to find out here

Edited September 4, 2013 by twentynine29

[Spawnsy]

Artago sees Whiterun. "I use to have a ore buyer from this city." He advances to the city and sees draugr at the gates. "s#*!, these guys must be security?"

[Keanumoreira]

Abdul mostly kept to himself during the walk to Whiterun, ignoring whatever it was that the Breton was blabbering on about. The sun wasn't inclined to show itself that day, but he didn't mind; the ominous atmosphere was strangely soothing.

 

They passed by the cryptic ruins of Bleak Falls Barrow which hung on the mountain like a terrible omen. It was fortunate that the road carried them in the opposite direction, for a dungeon that deserted was sure to be trouble. They continued on, winding down the road, following the river on its wayward path. Salmon leaped from the icy currents on their way upstream, the smell of which was offensive to Abdul. It wasn't long before they reached the valley, farmlands unfurling from the walls of Whiterun. Even from where the group was standing, they looked old and appeared to sag. Certainly, they had seen been better days, back when fiercer armies clamored at its gates. Whiterun was silent now, standing in the center of the valley....dark and dying...a hollow shell...a shadow of its former self.

 

Abdul saw some familiarity in this and felt empathetic towards the city. But this was just the face of Whiterun, what it chose to share with the outside world. There was no telling what horrors awaited them inside...

[FennecFyre]

The walk to Whiterun was, fortunately, uneventful. The rain receded into a drizzle, at least for now, and everyone seemed to be wrapped up in their own thoughts.

 

When they came to the fields that surrounded the city, however, Sivari began to notice signs of the Black King's rule. What few farmers there were seemed downcast, their faces hollow and their cheeks sunken from too little food. She guessed that whatever bits of food they could coax from the frozen ground now went mostly into the city as taxes by the Priests. The farmers barely looked up as the adventurers passed. A tight ball of anger began to manifest in Sivari's stomach, causing her to grip the scabbard of her dagger and glare towards the city. It wasn't right that the Priests would lounge comfortably in their halls while the citizens, now no more than serfs, scrabbled over the frozen ground in the hopes of simply surviving another year.

 

She flicked her tail as they near the draugr Artago mentioned. "Ssh, elf" she hissed. "Let me handle this." Time to test if Rahjin's amulet worked. As they neared the gates, she found it harder and harder to step forward, primal fear slowly overwhelming her anger. She wrapped her cloak about her and forced herself to keep walking, keeping her eyes glued to the ground as they neared the abominations, who neither looked at them or moved in any way. They were almost to the gate...

 

Clang!

 

Sivari nearly jumped out of her skin as the guard's battleaxes clashed together, barring the way. Their heads rotated slowly to face the group with a rustle of dry skin. "Sttaaate youuuur busssinesss," rasped one of them in a voice like a crypt. His breath smelled like a crypt too, Sivari noticed while trying not to retch.

 

"Um," she squeaked, "Well, you see--"

 

That was when her amulet, hidden securely under her clothing, began to feel warm against her chest. Her nose was flooded with the incense-and-cinnamon smell from before, and she felt herself relaxing as some force pushed the fear away and helped her think clearly again. "We," she said, gesturing to her companions, "are adventurers who have heard of the Whiterun Priest's might, and wish to serve under him."

"Naaaames?" growled the other draugr, seeming to buy it for the moment.

"My name is Ri'kitta, and these are the elf Azareth, the Breton Bedywyr, the Argonian Kurun-Jei, and the Nord Olric."

The shambling creatures growled again, seemed to mull it over. Finally, they moved the weapons aside, and Sivari scurried through the gate, elated that she had managed to bluff them.

 

The inside of the city was nearly as drab as the outside. Everywhere she looked, she saw downcast faces, hungry-looking children, and, sometimes, draugr guards. They stalked through the city arrogantly as people scrambled to get out of their way. "Can't wait to slit a few rotten throats," she growled quietly.

 

At the end of the street was a plaza with a well in the center. One of the nearby buildings held a sign advertising it as the Bannered Mare, and appeared to be a tavern. When the group was gathered, she turned to them and whispered. "What do you all say? Head right for the Priest's hall, or see what information we can dig up at the inn?"

 

(I just pulled those names off UESP, so if your character would rather use a different alias or none at all, feel free. It'll just confuse any potential pursuers, lol)

[Macman253]

Tordin smiled and nodded to the Khajiit woman as she got them into the city with little to no trouble. Tordrin growled as they passed the undead guards to the city. When they entered the city he could smell the desperation and the stench of the undead, his hand unwittingly tightened on his hammer. Thunder rolled in the distance across the famous Whiterun steppes.

 

His home city, a shadow of it's former self. The embers of the Skyforge were no longer in the air, the former smell of the legendary forge had long been silenced. He turned to Sivari and drew his hammer.

 

"I say we storm Dragonsreach... we have the element of surprise." He said with a wicked smile and a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

[Spawnsy]

No you fool, if we storm, we die, we need information, we need their routes, their shifts, we need information, we need to cause diversions, but nice try nord

[twentynine29]

Edwin shivered as they walked into the city, he was surprised how they got in so easily. The city was in horrible condition, beggars were pleading for food and a chance to see another wretched day. There was a disturbing smell in the air, a mix of the draugr, mud, and plenty of death. When they reached the plaza, he looked towards the tavern. "The inn is our best choice. If we ignorantly strut into the Dragonsreach now we will fall in less than a minute. We just need to keep a low profile and see if someone knows anything, we might even gather people who are willing to join us in our fight against that disgusting fossil lounging in his palace."

Edited September 9, 2013 by twentynine29